Backyard/Vegetable Garden

You are drunk, said Hades, and Ikanov stayed silent. Because yes captain obvious, he was drunk! It was also such a funny response he didn't even laugh at it. It felt too easy.

When the other man said he had already said too much, then he laughed. It was a loud and ugly sound, unbecoming of Abel Ikanov, but it still happened.

"It's never enough when you're this thirsty. But I'll bite, let's see what you want to know. It will say a lot less about me than it says about you, honey. So ask away, what could I possibly have to say that is of interest to a fucking god?" He said, leaning back a bit to sit with his legs crossed. Now and only now, he wanted space between them.
 
Given the chance to be the one asking questions, and therefore the chance to be on the offensive, Dark was able to pull himself back together, and his eyes hardened in the fading light. He hummed, slightly, looking at Ikanov for a long time before saying, "You do not have a problem with me, but you have a problem with who I brought with me. That is what upsets you. You insult her, without having met her, but come onto me, with about as much tact and subtlety as Joseph McCarthy seeking communists in Hollywood, which tells me, were I a single man with no children, you would feel no malice towards me. So what is it about the existence of a child that bothers you? Considering the opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference, and you seem, by no means, indifferent to a child in your general proximity."

He did not particularly care what this line of questioning 'revealed' about him. He needed something to create distance.
 
His first response was a sudden wall of silence as Ikanov's amusement died off. He tried his best to focus on what the other man was saying, he really did, but he liked to use a lot of words to say simple shit. Ikanov wasn't particularly fond of smart-assed fools, if they were hot he'd silence them with a kiss. But he wasn't stupid enough even drunk of his ass to go kissing strangers where anyone could see. He rolled his eyes and let them wander, unfocused, until the few final words Dark said finally revealed what he wanted to know.

"You can be more direct, daddy, I just don't like kids. It doesn't get more simple. Next question, or have I talked too much already?" He said, thinking he should probably get going. Dark could have been spicy and fun with his lines, but he was just old plain boring instead. So Abel would rather keep it short. At least he hadn't asked his name again.
 
"Nothing is simple," Dark replied, "Why do you not like kids? And why do you dislike them to the point they turn you hostile? Every dislike has a reason behind it. One person I know dislikes farms. He hates them, actually. And he has a reason for it, which makes sense to him, and so he maintains his dislike. And at what age does the dislike dissipate? Thirteen, fifteen? At 18, when the government decrees they are old enough to go to war? 21, when they are old enough to drink? Where is the line for you?"

Dark turned his head slightly to the side, and then asked, "Have you ever thought about that? Or about where your 'simple' dislike comes from? In my experience, people are not very enlightened about themselves... Every question you have asked, and every question I could ask is the all the same question: who are you? But that is not really sexy, is it."
 
"I'm sexy as fuck, honey, and you know it. But you keep yapping at me with some existential shit I really don't care for. I don't like kids because they tend to be a pain in the ass. And I prefer it of a different kind." He said with a snort, and stood up, sort of drifting to one side, and then the other, when he finally managed to catch himself and keep his balance.

"Anyway, you got any interesting questions? 'cause I ain't about to unravel my fuckin conscience out here. If you want to strip me bare, ask like a man, and I'll be happy to, somewhere warmer. I know myself inside and out, lover, and sometimes it's just that simple. You can turn it and break it all you like but sometimes, just sometimes, it really isn't that deep." Said Ikanov. And unless the other caught his interest, somehow, he was on his way out. Still wobbly and unsure of where he was even stepping. But eventually he'd get to the stairs! And where there were stairs there was a railing, lucky him.
 
Dark let him go, without another word. He did what he had set out to do, anyway. The drunken ibn al kalb had spoken in an accusatory way regarding the relationship he had with his wife, annoying him was enough justice for one night. And he still stank, the night air did not wash away the stench of alcohol, so Dark was glad for him to be gone.

He looked up at the sky, at the first few stars of a clear evening, and as Ikanov left, he once again to fiddle with the ring, allowing his thoughts to once more consume him, although now he dwelled not only on endings, but on beginnings. The conversation with Ikanov turned out to only be a momentary distraction, if an annoying one. Soon it would be his child's bedtime, and then he would go inside, tuck her in for one of the last few times before she decided she was too big to be tucked in, which he knew was certainly coming, and then... find something to occupy himself with, until he slept. If he could sleep.
 
He'd hear Ikanov open the back door and then close it. Then, the window that had been slightly open, closed. It was the one that looked into Ishades' study.

The younger Luseth opened his bedroom door and dragged Ikanov Inside by the arm, not really saying anything beyond;

"Shut the fuck up you gigantic idiot. It's me. Come in here"

And then getting him to the shower in his and his brother's bathroom. He couldn't believe what he had just seen and heard in the garden.
 
Ivy noticed saw her father outside, and went outside to greet him. They typically spoke to each other in Arabic, and this was no exception, even if they were living in a new place. Dark initally pulled a different chair closer to the one he was sitting in, but she decided to share his, because she was missing her mother, and so wanted to be close to her living parent, so he wrapped her up tight in his arms, and rested his chin on her head.

They talked with each other for awhile, and she cried, the way he couldn't manage, but Dark, miraculously, made her laugh. Then, he kissed the top of her head, and they talked about the new toys he was going to make her, and what they were going to do tomorrow, and in the coming days--on Monday he was going to take her to get a library card--and then nothing at all.

And all Dark could think, as he held his baby close, was she was, by no means, a goblin.
 
After they ate breakfast, Ivy went outside to play in the backyard. She had a special eye for the great tree, with its branches all twisted and gnarled, stretching out wide before turning their attention upward. It was the perfect tree for a treehouse, but if she was going to have one, she wanted it to be in the house her dad was going to build, not in this house she'd eventually leave.

But her intention today was not to have a house, it was to climb as high as she could get. What she really wanted to do was manufacture a pully system, so she could hoist her notebook and pen up to her, so she could write a story up in the tree, without needing to carry it up in her arms. It seemed really easy, she just needed a good bedsheet with something heavy on one end, and a light, flat table on the other, and then she'd climb up and through the heavy end over the highest branch she could reach! But, Baba told her she needed permission before she began modifying Mr. Lukais' tree. Disappointing. But, he did promise to hand her what she needed when she decided she was finished climbing up and around and wanted to simply sit and write, so she couldn't argue too badly.

When everyone who attended returned from Church, Ivy would still be outside, climbing in the tree, and occasionally hanging upside down by her knees (something she took special pleasure in doing when wanting to speak to her dad), while Dark sat in one of the chairs. He would have a block of wood in his right hand, and with a tool in his left, he would be carefully shaping it to the torso of the doll he was crafting. Because all his dolls were fully articulated, he had to work carefully and do each section of the body separately, so to those who did not know what he was doing, it may look a bit strange. Because he did not know the Dunhams would be coming for lunch, he did not bother disguising the tattoos on his hands.
 
At around 11, whoever was outside could hear the sound of heavy hoofsteps on the road, and on the ground. The cart's wheels and Luka's ever gentle voice sushing his mare. It had been a good three and something hours since they left.

The sermon hadn't been anything out of the ordinary. There was a lot of listening, some singing, a lot of praying. Everyone knew each other, some people came to talk to Luka exclusively, some ladies came to mingle with Mrs. Dunham. A few had words to say about Rose's choice of lifestyle, but that wasn't new. The Dunham sat at the back, mainly because Selene was only there to be present. She didn't stand with everyone, or say any prayers. She didn't sing, either. Her kids did, they participated in every way they wanted to. Luka chose to sit a few spaces closer, sharing a bench with people he didn't get to see that often. He talked to Father Ronald after, and took confession. Whatever he could have done to feel sinful in the past two weeks was between him and god. After, they talked to people some more and let the kids run around with others of their age. Now with school holiday they didn't get as much time. Olivia's dress ended up more stained than it should, and her mother had to firmly remind her she should be more careful. Gabriel was fine, even if he didn't have as many friends. His mother just thought him a bit more selective.

On the way back they made a couple of stops that stalled them, and there was some traffic. As much as there could be in Juniper Hollow. At one point Lukais was certain he caught a glimpse of Viktor Ikanov himself, and a shudder went down his spine. He just kept driving, though. Now they were getting home, and Jenny deserved a good meal and a wash. He'd tell Ishade to handle that, since the Dunham were staying for lunch and he'd have to get to cooking as soon as possible.

Selene was the first out of the buggy, she looked Dark up and down as her kids stepped down behind her.

"Mr. Dark, I suppose?" She asked, her expression unreadable.
 
"It would seem my reputation precedes me," Dark replied as he set aside his work and stood to greet her. He did not offer his hand to shake, and instead only nodded politely to her, and action which came directly from the culture he was raised in, not out of any intended rudeness, "I would be concerned, were I at a disadvantage, but unless I am mistaken, I am in the presence of dear Mrs. Dunham." She was mentioned in the letters he had exchanged with Luka, and he recalled her name mentioned the night before at dinner. He spoke quite cordially, and folded his arms behind his back.

Ivy, seeing the horse and the strangers enter into the yard, and she stayed very still within the trees, hoping to be quietly forgotten. She was, of course, very interested in meeting the horse, but she liked to spy. And there were children, and she didn't know what kind of children they were. She was used to people her age not being particularly nice to her, so she needed to watch them, first, to see if she could make an estimation. It wasn't like she could ask. Parents always said their children were excellent. Sandra M.'s mom always said she was a lovely angel, and Billy's mom said he was wonderful, even though Billy cut her hair because he felt like it, and Mary liked to call her a giant, and Betty mocked her family for being weird, and not one of their parents ever admitted their child was nasty. So she would sit and watch. She peeked through the trees at her father, who was being very good and not glancing at the tree.

Meanwhile Rose stood back near Luka, and curiously watching Selene and Mr. Dark interact, softly whispered, "Are you nervous all of a sudden?"
 
Gabriel and Olivia came forward from behind their mom, standing at her sides. Selene had nodded at the man, confirming she was indeed The Mrs. Dunham he must have heard of.

Her light grey eyes looked like they might be seeing through him as she finished taking him in. If she had anything to say about his appearance, she kept it to herself.

"Well, have I taught you no manners?" She said after a few seconds of silence, arching a brow at her kids.

Gabriel had been looking at the man's tattoos, not liking them one bit. He was a big man, who might be a criminal. Decent people didn't do that! Or at least mom always said exceptions were rare. And more often than not, wrongly perceived.

"Greetings Mr. Dark! I'm Olivia. I like your colors!" Said his sister, in contrast, because of course she did. He sighed, his face an unmasked expression of disgust. His sister came forward a few steps to get a closer look at the man. But only a few steps.

"Hi Mr. Dark. I hope you are liking your stay in the boarding house. The Luseth are very nice." Finally said Gabriel, ready to pull his sister back.

"Indeed they are. How's your daughter?, Is she here" Said Selene, looking around.

Luka shrugged at Rose, nodding lightly.
"Want to come help me make lunch?" He asked her. It was their ticket out of there, plus he really needed to get started on that.
 
Rose nodded quickly, and said, "I would love to help you with lunch," and quickly followed him inside.

Dark was impenetrable, and not particularly intimidated by the young mother, even if she did seem quite formal and quite serious. He deemed he had met her type a thousand times before, and frankly, he was past the stage in his life where he cared what those who had no real impact on his life thought of him. He had nothing against her, of course, but there was nothing she could say or think which would stick with him long.

But to the children he smiled--actually smiled, because he knew he was tall and large and scary looking, and so he used a unnatural expression to deal with them, just as he did when Ivy was younger (although then it was to teach her normative expressions, because babies need positive affirmation, and can't really understand subtle emotional cues), and he knelt down to be on their level, "Hello, Miss Olivia, hello Mister Miss-Olivia's-Brother. I am quite glad you like my illustrations," he flashed the backs of his hands, wiggling his fingers to make it look almost like the spiders were crawling. He could tell the boy was less comfortable with him, which was fine, but he had spent enough time around children to have some tips to put them at ease, and if it failed, at least the girl would be amused. He would not normally bother, but he knew his daughter was watching them from within her tree, so he needed to do reconnaissance so he could deliver her with a full report on what he thought they were like, "every one of them tells a whole story, you know, just like a picture book."

Then he stood again, his expression once again neutral as he regarded Mrs. Dunham, and he said, "She might be around. We had been playing hide-and-seek when you arrived, although it may not have looked like it. I was counting, and she is rather competitive, so if she is hiding out here, she would need to be wholly certain I was not tricking her into betraying her hiding spot so I would win the game. She once missed an ice cream truck, because she thought my wife and I were lying about it when we called her." His final sentence was true, even if the rest was only said to cover for his child, since inevitably she would be called down from her hiding space.
 
"His name is-"

"It's Gabriel!, I'll help uncle Luka with lunch, mom" He said to Selene, who nodded. Clearly her son wanted to get out of there. Olivia laughed a bit at her brother's outburst and watched Dark's arm paintings with wonder.

"Are you an artist like uncle Ishade?" Asked the little girl, thinking maybe Dark had painted his own tattoos. Selene spared herself a few seconds of softness, amused by her daughter's antics. But it was only a moment.

Lukais and Rose headed to the kitchen. The former knocked a couple of times on Ishades' bedroom door and told him, loudly, to give Jen a wash. From the inside came a muffled groan that could have honestly been anything. But it was at least an acknowledgement, so they continued on their way to the kitchen. Now with Gabe in tow.
 
"I am pleased to meet you, Mister Gabriel," Dark said as the boy ran inside. Then, speaking to Olivia, said, "Well, I designed all of my illustrations, and some of them I put into my skin myself, but not all. And I make wooden toys and contraptions, but I believe 'artist' is a term others have to give you, not one you may claim for yourself."

Dark turned to Mrs. Dunham, and said, "I am sure I will discover the whereabouts of my daughter come lunchtime, unless you prefer I seek her out now."
 
"You make wooden toys? Can you make big dogs with three heads? I like Cerberus!" Asked Olivia, gasping quietly. Selene thought of the five other figurines they had managed to collect of Cerberus depictions her daughter had found interesting. They could probably fit another one on the shelf.

"I don't have a preference really, she's your daughter." Said Selene with a shrug. She turned her back to them, stepping down from her guard-like attitude to pay some attention to the horse. She had been so good, and was now taking a well deserved break. Ishade would surely be out in no time, but she just couldn't help herself. Jenny was a magnificent beast, and Mrs. Dunham always carried some snacks for the horses. When she visited the Luseth, and when she rode her own sweethearts.

"Hey beautiful, thank you for your time today" She whispered, quiet enough even her daughter could barely see her. The horse snorted, used to Selene. And so by the time a very grumpy looking Ishade came out to the garden, she had all the horses' gear almost off.

Ishade looked like he hadn't slept much, with bags under his eyes. His hair was a complete and utter mess, and he had sort of put on some comfortable pants and an old shirt that was missing one button at the top and one at the bottom at least, plus some boots.

"Hi everyone. Was church bearable?" He asked, taking Jenny's reins from Selene. The buggy was left out, the wheels needed some cleaning.

"Same as always, dear. It's good to see you so well rested, just ready for another day."Said Selene, giving Ishade a nasty look. But the other just threw a wolf like smirk at her.

"Always try to look my best when I know you're coming" He answered jokingly, and held her gaze for a few seconds. Then a sneer and a smirk turned into genuine smiles, and Ishade left with Jen to wash her a bit further away. It could get messy. She was sweaty and needed a brush.

"Bye Jenny!" Olivia waved the horse goodbye. She would see Ishade for lunch, though. So there was no bye bye for him.
 
"How could I forget." Dark replied as Selene walked away to speak to the horse. He then sat down in the chair he had been sitting in earlier, so he could speak with Olivia more on her level.

"I could make Cerberus, yes. I have made him once before, actually. At my old house, I had a great, wooden one about this high," he held up his hand to about where knee height on him would be, "right in front of our house. But I do not have him with me now, because I do not have the space."

He nodded slightly at Ishade when he came out, but obviously since he was brought out to do a job, he let him be. Ivy stayed still up in her tree, and only grew more distrustful. The boy seemed to be uncomfortable with her dad, and the girl, well, she made Ivy a bit jealous. Pretty short girls always did, but this girl seemed like she was about to ask Baba to make her a toy. Ivy knew it shouldn't bother her, her dad had made toys for other kids before, but everything had changed since then, and she didn't want him making special things for other kids, especially kids who would probably decide she was weird anyway. If Ivy had been a bit older, she might have thought to herself, "One can smile and smile and be a villain," but even she was a bit too young to understand Hamlet. And, if she had been a bit older, she would have understood the anxiety she felt about detecting some level of a common interest, especially in someone who was pretty and short, but she didn't. She was feeling anxiety about being replaced, or forgotten, or being seen as the "worse version of" because everyone knew this other girl, and didn't know her, she wanted to still feel special and interesting, but if this girl also liked Cerberus, what other things did she like? And would she think she was being copied?

But Ivy didn't recognize this was the root of how she was feeling, she just felt--bad. And feeling bad, she decided she would remain perfectly still up in the tree until they left, even if it meant skipping lunch, because she didn't want to be around the boy who didn't like her dad or the pretty short girl who thought she'd get a toy from Baba, or their mother, who was probably just as bad as the rest of them.
 
With the mare gone and in Ishades' care, Selene was back to paying attention to the exchange between Mr. Dark and her daughter.

"Do you sell your toys?, Or maybe there's something we can offer you in return. We're neighbors now after all." Said Selene, already well aware of where the conversation was heading. At least on her daughter's side.

"Ohh! I could make you a cloth flower crown??, Or-or a real flower crown. But they wilt very fast and wood doesn't so it wouldn't be fair..." Said Olivia. Her mother encouraged her to pick up arts and craft projects among other things. She said it built character, and then they had things made by themselves. Selene herself wasn't that kind of artist. She did play some instruments, ride, sew and other activities. But she didn't paint, or sculpt. It wasn't her thing, really.

"I also have a cool jar of bugs" Said the little girl, walking a couple of steps forward toward Dark.

"Don't fall" said Ishade to Ivy when he passed near her with Jen. She could hide all she wanted, but the chances were that he knew where she'd be. He had grown up in the house after all. He wasn't loud either, so he didn't draw attention to Ivy's hiding spot.
 
"I do not sell them," Dark replied, and glanced up at the tree. He had no way of knowing how his child was feeling, he could only vaguely make out her shape in the leaves, and only because he knew what he was looking for. Still, although it was indiscernible in his face and mannerisms, he was a bit put off by the suggestion he would decide to make something for people he only just met, purely because of their physical proximity. He spoke honestly, and pretended he did not understand the suggestion, saying, "I have made trades, but typically only with those who could not afford toys from a professional manufacturer."

Not desiring to cause strife, he turned to Selene, who he knew was old enough to have memories of this time, and said, "I was an adult during the Depression, and all across this country I saw children wearing clothing made from flour sacks in front of foreclosed houses, and I saw the children of the wealthy who were untouched by the crisis whose lives went on as they ever had. It is not the fault of either child, but..." He shrugged his shoulders, "the only time I broke my rule is when my wife or daughter needed, or desperately wanted, something we could not ourselves afford, but that was a rare circumstance."

Ivy looked down from the branches at Ishade, and if he had seen her earlier, she may have resembled the Cheshire Cat, the way she clung to her branch, but now she was observing an unfolding series of events which made her feel exceptionally anxious, and her upset was plain on her face. All she said was, "I won't." as quietly as she could, so that she would only be heard by Ishade but nobody else.
 
"I see how it is" Said Selene after a moment of thought. While she could understand his reasoning, she didn't agree with it. Or like It. So far this man seemed to be one of the people who thought themselves better than others, because of specific circumstances. As if having had to work harder for things in life automatically made you morally superior. It wasn't very clear, and they had barely exchanged a few words... But they certainly didn't leave her with the desire to know more.

Olivia pouted, seeing how her offer for trade went ignored at best and denied at worst. What did the Depression have to do with a wooden dog toy?. Judging by her mother's words he had definitely rejected making it. Maybe he was afraid he wouldn't be that good?. Olivia could understand that. Sometimes she hesitated a lot when she was learning to make things, because they weren't as good as she wanted them to be.

"You know, it's okay if It's not perfect..." But she stopped, feeling her mother grasp her shoulder lightly.

"No, we wouldn't want to burden Mr. Dark with a request to break his own rules. Let's go inside darling. I think there's someone in the music room, and maybe they'll want to share some tips with us." She smiled, a deliberately forced-looking expression. Her eyes remained ice cold. Olivia looked at Dark with big sad eyes. She had really been looking forward to another toy for her collection, a big happy dog family.

"But mom... What did he even mean?" She whispered while Selene les them into the house.

"He doesn't want to make a toy for you, dear." Answered Selene. It was muffled, as they were crossing the door already. But it wasn't hard to hear.

Ishade saw Ivy was upset, but he didn't know why and he wasn't about to open that can of worms. He was no good with kids. So he took off the rest of the horses' equipment and then started giving her a rinse. Pint watched from near the stable.
 
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